A few weeks after the envoy visited, the Imperial Palace began preparations to prepare for war. We had not intended to start the war so quickly, but the Sanki Kingdom did not intend to just kill our King either. They attacked a border city, allowing William the perfect excuse to declare war. The nobles were no longer able to argue since the Sanki kingdom conducted such a blatant attack. However, they mostly didn't argue because a phantom was blackmailing them into compliance. Apparently the Black Death feared that his business would take a hit if the noble classes continued to protest.

Or at least that was the rumor.

Even though getting motivation to do work was hard, I still wouldn't forget my previous promises. I helped William convince the nobles and continued to run my underground society. When I had time, I finally went to the Imperial Palace to collect my payment. I wouldn't have a chance to see William, not because he was ignoring me, but mostly because he was far too busy with war preparations to pay me any attention.

Of course... Even if he wasn't busy he would probably still avoid me. Speaking about being avoided, Dante was still ignoring me. I guess that dessert didn't work as Hypatia had thought it would.

As I walked down the hall, Queen Luna ran over to me in a hurry. "Seri! Thank the heavens you are here!"

I blinked in confusion at her hurried expression, "What is it Queen Luna?"

"It's William and Dante!"

William and Dante?

"They are fighting!"

I shrugged, "They are always fighting."

She shook her head in haste, "No! With actual swords! They are acting like they want to kill each other! William even challenged Dante to a duel to the death!"

My eyes widened in surprise. Before I realized it, I was already sprinting towards the direction that Queen Luna had said. I flung open the door to see the two with hateful expressions facing each other. They hadn't noticed me since they were too immersed in their own argument.

William looked extremely angry as he glared at Dante. He held his sword tightly in his hand, "Come on! Draw your sword!"

Dante had his arms crossed and clicked his tongue, "I'm not going to fight you."

"Why? Are you scared I may actually win?!"

"No. I just don't want to kill you-" Dante spoke in a mocking tone, "Brother."

William clenched his jaw, "You- You bastard child! You really think you are better than me!? Well you aren't! I was right all along and you know it! You were never good enough for her and you never deserved to live with us either! You're nothing but a leech!"

Dante's hand itched wanting to pull out his sword, "Watch your mouth."

"Haah? Watch my mouth!? Why should I?! You know I'm right! Now come fight me!" Seeing Dante refusing to move, William added more flames to the fire. "Because of you Seri was almost killed by poison. Face it! You don't deserve her! If she stays by your side she's going to be dead within a year!"

Dante took out his sword, "Shut up!"

Why are they arguing about me? Was this also my fault as well?

William smirked, "Then fight me and I will shut up! If you don't fight... Then I will take her from you. If I really wanted to, I could just force her to marry me. I am the King after all! Perhaps I should do just that? It wouldn't be hard. I could be married to her tomorrow."

Dante gripped his sword. He pulled it out of it's sheath revealing the message I had carved onto the blade. His voice was icy cold, "You want to duel to the death? Fine. Have your wish."

Dante raised his sword, ready to strike.

They really are going to kill each other.

No. I can't let them fight. They're friends. They're best friends. I need to stop this. I need to make them understand.

William prepared for Dante's attack.

Dante's face grew dark as his malicious feelings gained control of his sanity.

I knew I had to do something. I couldn't let them kill each other. But what could I do to make them stop?!

I ran.

As Dante charged at William, a flash of success crossed William's face.

William turned his sword, opening himself up to Dante's attack. He didn't intend to block or fight back. He fully intended on being cut down by Dante.

Dante was so enraged, he didn't even realize William's intention.

I ran.

I ran with all my strength.

I ran until my lungs burned.

I threw my body protectively in front of William with my arms outstretched.

Dante caught sight of me suddenly in front of him. He snapped out of his dark thoughts and tried to stop himself. However, it was already too late.

A dull thunk echoed throughout my back. My breath was forcibly knocked out. I blinked in surprise as I stared at William's ashen pale face. I could see the horror in his eyes.

My mind was blank as I struggled to speak, "Y-You two..."

My body trembled uncontrollably and I fell to my knees. I felt as though my energy was being drained too quickly. I leaned forward on my hands for support and blinked in surprise as my back felt heavy and moist. A warm liquid quickly trickled down my side. It seeped through my clothes and splashed on the floor beneath me.

Is that... Blood?

My arms wobbled, "You two... Are friends..."

My vision blurred as I collapsed on the ground. I struggled to speak, "Friends... shouldn't...."

"SERI!"

My vision turned dark.

______

*BEEP*

*BEEP*

*BEEP*

*BEEP*

I grumbled as I smacked my hand around trying to find the source of the obnoxious beeping. I felt the clock and threw it. It hit the wall and shattered into several pieces before the obnoxious alarm noise finally stopped.

I snuggled back into my pillow, "Just a few more minutes..."

My cellphone started ringing at a loud volume. I groaned and tried to cover my ears to avoid listening to it. However, it wouldn't stop.

I forced myself out of bed to grab it. My foot slipped on an empty bottle, causing my shin to be thrown forward and smacked into the coffee table.

"F*ck f*ck f*ck!"

I grabbed my shin and fell off balance. My head smacked into the wall.

"God d*mmit!"

I grabbed my phone and answered it while on the floor, "What?!"

My coworker with stylish brown hair was on the other end laughing, "Leia. Did you oversleep again?"

I rubbed my forehead, "Did I?"

"You do know you have to be at work soon. Right?"

"Uh..." I squinted at the time, "Nah it's fine. I have 30 minutes."

"Doesn't it take 30 minutes to get here?"

"Not if you speed."

I quickly hung up the phone and clapped my hands. The lights turned on and the curtains moved. I hissed at the sunlight. I looked down at my feet to see bottles and food strewn about everywhere. I rubbed my eyes.

"D*mn. Did I get drunk while watching that drama again? Such a mess... The cleaning lady is going to scold me again.."

I hopped over the mess and started getting ready. I sped through my morning routine and paused at the sight of a weight scale. I took a deep breath and stepped on. I hesitantly took a look at it. I groaned at the result.

"Great. This is why you don't eat chocolate and potato chips before you go to bed Leia. Now I got to exercise extra tonight." I groaned, "Why couldn't I be blessed with a body that allowed me to eat anything I wanted?"

I jumped in my car and started speeding down the road. I sucked on a protein shake while lifting a weight in my other hand. Cars honked as I cut in front of them and I made sure to flip them the bird to apologize.

I whipped into the parking lot and threw my car into park. I hopped out and rushed inside. My boss was standing outside talking to another.

I nodded at him, "Good morning, Mr. Kuma."

"Leia. You stayed up late again, didn't you?"

I chuckled, "At least I'm not late this morning. Right?" I went to my desk and tossed my purse on it. I sat down at turned on my computer while finishing my shake.

My friend with stylish brown hair poked her head over, "Leia. I seriously can't believe you. You are actually here right on time."

I nodded, "I told you Sidney. I'm an excellent driver."

"Did you hear? Brett seems to have found a girlfriend."

I nearly choked, "W-what?! Wasn't he just hitting on me at the bar a few weeks ago?!"

She giggled, "I can't believe you actually turned him down so cruelly. I really thought he would cry."

I chuckled, "Well at least he didn't push me off of a cliff in a fit of jealousy."

She rolled her eyes, "You really dream about the strangest things."

I whined, "Hey. It was a very realistic dream! I honestly thought you all had injected me with a sedative in an attempt to get rid of me."

"Yeah, yeah. I know it was a traumatic dream for you. I won't make fun of you anymore. I didn't think you would take it so seriously. Aren't you always talking about how no one could ever kill you?"

"Well I could die by being struck by a sword as my two friends fought over something stupid that they were using to hide their insecurities."

"That's so oddly specific..." She added optimistically, "And probably impossible in the modern era."

I pinched my eyebrows together, "It is... Isn't it..."

Brett suddenly appeared behind me, "Hey, Leia. Mr. Kuma wants you to talk to a customer about buying a faster car. It is your specialty."

I rubbed my hands together, "Oh yeah. I'm the master at muscle car sales."

I left to go speak to the customer. Using my glib tongue, I managed to convince him to buy a more expensive model.

It was a successful day. Just like every other day.

As I packed up to leave, Sidney poked her head over. "What are you going to do with your commission this time?"

I smiled smugly, "I think you can figure it out."

"You're going to spend it drinking at that favorite bar of yours?"

Brett spoke, "No. She's probably going to get another illegal mod on her car."

I glared at him, "Don't refer to my beautiful baby as a car. Her name is Stella."

He chuckled, "Well all of those modifications are still illegal."

I flipped my hair, "It's only illegal if you get caught."

Sidney also packed her bag, "Well you should go out with us girls this weekend. We are going to go catch ourselves some rich boyfriends."

I responded arrogantly, "Hmph. I don't need to look for one. I already have a boyfriend."

Sidney was shocked by this, "You do?! Since when!?"

"I've had one for a while."

"No she doesn't." Another co-worker joined in, "She's lying."

"I am not. He's super athletic, has really nice tan skin, and a beautiful set of muscles that will make you drool. He's a bit dark and broody on the outside, but he's secretly a big softie. Well... Towards me at least."

"Oh yeah? And just who is this mystery man?"

"His name is-"

I froze. The name completely escaped my memory. It felt like it was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't think of it. As I pondered this, the others all laughed at my inability to answer.

"See. I told you she doesn't have a boyfriend."

"I doubt she's lying. It's probably just another rich man she's trying to con money out of."

They all grabbed their belongings and left for the day. I stood there in confusion.

I... Have a boyfriend... Don't I? Why do I feel like the answer is yes, but I can't remember his name? When I close my eyes, I can see a face, but I can't make out any of the features on his face...

Mr. Kuma spoke causing me to jump, "Hey Leia darling. I don't want to kick you out, but I have to lock up for the night."

My previous thought immediately disappeared after he spoke.

I nodded, "Sorry Mr. Kuma."

As I walked out he shouted, "Are you going to the bar to meet up with the others?"

"No. I have to meet someone tonight."

I drove home driving as if I didn't care if I would crash or not. I pulled into the garage as it automatically opened and closed for me. I headed inside and tossed my things on the counter. I plopped down on the couch and laughed maliciously as I changed the channel on my television.

"Meet someone? Nah. Tonight is the night they release the new K-drama episode. I can't miss that."

I watched the show laughing and drinking an entire case of beer. Once one can was finished, I tossed it on the ground and grabbed another. I sighed feeling completely relaxed. Ahhh. Just how I like my weekends. Calm and alone. My only company is the television before me. It's how I spent most of my weekends when I was free.

I opened another beer, "It's been a while since I've come home to an empty house. It's relaxing to be able to read my erotic novels without having to worry about being spied on."

Wait. What did I just say?

I sat up and paused the television show. I pinched my eyebrows together as my brain painfully tried to remember what I was talking about. I stood up.

No. Something is wrong here.

I rushed to my library and began to frantically pull out the books to look at each one.

No. This isn't it. This isn't it either.

I had no idea what exactly I was looking for, but I knew that I would recognize it once I saw it. Books began to pile up on the floor, but I wasn't discouraged. I know it was here. Whatever it was.

A phone rang causing me to jump. I reached into my pocket to pull it out.

"Hello?"

I turned away from the shelves completely forgetting my objective.